Better Than The Notebook
by peyote-angels
Summary: What happens the night after Diwali. Season three. Ryan/Kelly. One shot. Short and sweet, you know?


**Title: Better Than The Notebook. **

**Paring: Kelly/Ryan.**

**Disclaimer: I have yet to own the Office. But one day, I'll totally own BJ Novak. Oh yay!  
**

**Authors note: This is just a little one shot I wrote after watching season three. The more I watch the older seasons, the more I adore Kelly/Ryan. Anyway, this is what I think happened after Diwali. Just a short little one shot but comments would be nice. I'll probably come out with some more while I work on my other fic. Thanks. 3**

* * *

Her face is pressed against my chest and I can feel her mouth moving, words muffled. "Sh, Kel, it's fine," I say, my hand on the base of her neck.

"Fo iz ott!" she wails incoherently and I shift awkwardly, an elderly couple passing by giving us strange looks.

"Kelly," I say, lifting her chin, "come on. Do you want to leave?" She sniffs wiping her eyes. I brush the black mascara from her cheekbones.

"Yeah, yeah I do." I give her a gentle smile, brushing away her bangs.

"All right. I'm going to get our coats." She nods, slumping against a wall, her face miserable.

The floor of the community centre is shiny and my shoes squeak against the tiles. I keep my eyes lowered, avoiding the stares of various couples. Though many people are dressed like me here, I feel odd in the Indian costume Kelly had me dressed up in. I always feel out of place in anything other than my sweatshirt and jeans or my work attire. But Kelly really had her mind set on me being here.

The coat rack is near the shoes and I see Pam standing there, toying with her cell phone. "Hey," I say, reaching next to her and pulling my coat from the rack. She jumps a bit, gazing around. When her eyes fall on me, they almost seem to dim slightly.

"Oh hey," she replies, fixing a smile on her lips. I fold my coat over my arm before reaching for Kelly's.

"You all right?" I ask, stepping back. She nods glancing at her phone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Kelly ok?" she questions, tilting her head slightly to the side. I let out a breath, lifting my shoulders in a shrug.

"Not really. She's upset her parent's don't like me."

Pam gives me a sympathetic smile. "I'm sure they'll come around. You're a pretty likeable guy." I know she's lying because I know I come off as an asshole. But I smile at her anyway and she touches my arm as she walks past me, making her way back to the Diwali celebration. I sigh, watching her go, before turning on my heel in search of Kelly.

* * *

I find her outside on the steps, her legs tight against her chest. "Hey," I say quietly, sitting down next to her and draping her pink coat over her shoulders. She scoots closer to me and instinctively I slip my arm around her waist.

"I feel like we're in the Notebook," she sighs pathetically.

I furrow my brows. "You have Alzheimer's?" She shoots me a dirty look and I duck my face in order to hide my teasing grin. It actually depresses me a little that I know that. She whimpers quietly and I squeeze her gently. "Come on Kel, it's not a big deal," I say for what seems like the 100th time that night. But she only moans miserably.

"Do you want to get some frozen yogurt?" I ask after a moment of consideration. She perks up slightly because I never buy her frozen yogurt because ice cream cones at McDonald's are so much cheaper. She thinks that everyone in California eats frozen yogurt for some reason. It was probably on an episode of The O.C. or something.

Before I can back out of it, she's dragging me to my car.

* * *

Her happiness is momentarily lived.

"I just don't understand," she cries, dropping her plastic spoon in the empty cup. "How could my parents not like you?" I don't say anything, just take another bite of yogurt.

She hadn't spoken the whole 15 minutes we sat in my car. It was quiet and I had figured that she had gotten over the whole situation. Never underestimate power of a hormonal female.

"They are so ridiculous!" she continues, crossing her arms and pouting her lips. "Don't they see how amazing you are? And how much I love you?"

I freeze, staring directly out the window shield. She did not just say that… I lower my yogurt, looking over at her. A blush rises to her dark cheeks and for once she's speechless. My lips are moving but no sound is coming out because I'm somewhere between horrified and… happy? My eyes widen and I try to brush that feeling away because I do not… there's no way.

"I'm so sorry," she breathes and I think for once she's embarrassed. "It just came out… I didn't… I mean…" And she has a hand to her forehead and I manage to swallow.

"Kelly," I croak into the silent car, "forget what your parents think about me for a minute. What do you think about me?" Her face isn't thoughtful and she's not considering anything. She's nervous. And that unnerves me more than anything. Because Kelly is never nervous.

"I love you," she says quietly, lifting her face to look at me. She gives a breathless laugh. "I really do."

And I can't hide the smile on my lips because I know she really does. I push away my dessert, leaning over the console and kissing her, my fingers resting on her collarbone. And when I pull away, I know we're both feeling lightheaded.

"I don't care what your parents think of me," I whisper, my forehead resting against hers. "Honestly. Just what you think." I catch her lower lip between mine, my eyes fluttering shut.

"Oh Ryan," she nearly squeals, pulling away. "This is even better than the Notebook!"

And I have to laugh. Because it totally is.

* * *

Oh, Kelly. You're just so fun to write sometimes. Hope you enjoyed this.


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